Ghana is turning to India to procure equipment worth USD 10 million to tackle mounting waste and poor sanitary conditions in its capital Accra and other urban areas.

Phasing out and upgrading open dumps and controlling the disposal of waste is a necessary first step for effective Solida Waste Management. There is no single ‘right answer’ to solid waste management; rather, a mix of measures and approaches. The solutions that will work in your city have to fit your own circumstances as per the report.

From Avanish Kumar, Toxics Link, New Delhi

Posted 31 October 2007

Rapid urbanization has put Third World cities in an urban crisis. Municipal authorities, in third world cities, have not been able to dispose off urban waste in a scientific and eco-friendly manner. Inappropriate waste disposal technologies have only intensified the problem. Composting has been promoted as an eco-friendly and sustainable solution to urban waste management. However, experiences of composting projects have not been very good.

From Aparna Das, UNDP, New Delhi

Posted 11 January 2007

Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, large investments are to be made for modernizing and upgrading sewage and solid waste management facilities in cities (See http://www.urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ud/jnnurm.htm for details).

From Aniruddhe Mukerjee, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal

Posted 21 May 2007

Dear Members,

I used to work for the UN-HABITAT on the Water for Asian Cities Programme, which aims to support developing countries in Asia and Pacific to achieve sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation for the poor, particularly in urban areas. In Madhya Pradesh, the programme is working in four cities of the state, viz. Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore and Jabalpur for improvement and expansion of urban water supply, sewerage and sanitation, water drainage and solid waste management.

Original Query: Sheldon Mendonca, Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR), Ahmednagar

Posted: 28 June 2006

I work with the renewable energy department recently formed by Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR). WOTR is looking to use renewable energy technologies to attempt solving the energy problems faced by communities in rural Maharashtra.

In this context, I would be grateful, if members of the community can share with me:

The website of Composting Toilet World advocate for the use of composting toilets worldwide through educate, promote and facilitate the use of compost toilets.

It also looks at composting toilets catalog which provides the most advanced environmental & economical sanitation solution such as waterless self-contained, waterless remote, low water remote and Flushsmart VF vacuum flush  for cottage, cabin, home, RV, pool cabana, farm, yurt, basement, work shop, commercial application & more.

The paper titled “Incinerator for School Toilet Waste Case Study: Tamil Nadu” has been developed and published by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). This case study is about the use of incinerator for school toilet waste in Tamil Nadu where innovative low cost technology incinerator has been developed for proper disposal of sanitary wastes.

The case study titled “Making nightsoil-based biogas plants viable in Maharashtra’s Pune district” has been written by Dr. S V Mapuskar in India Infrastructure Report, published in 2007 by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It presents Dehu village of Maharashtra’s Pune district, where some families allow their neighbours to use their toilets for a nominal maintenance charge making attached biogas plants economically viable. The strategy has also eased the village Panchayat’s responsibilities for human nightsoil management and reduced environmental pollution due to open defecation.